Chief prosecutor 'being fair' with criminals

Jefferson County's chief prosecutor is taking new aim at cracking down on criminals by being fair.

Tom Wine has been a well-known attorney, prosecutor and judge for more than three decades, but in January he took on a new role -- commonwealth's attorney.

"I want to do justice to the victims and to the defendants," Wine said.

Last week, a high profile case brought Wine's mission into focus.

Convicted of shooting and killing two men after a dice game on the west side, Samuel Daniels was facing the death penalty.

Wine's team argued execution, but the jury handed down a different sentence, life in the penitentiary without the possibility of parole.

"This individual has now received a life sentence without parole. He will die in the penitentiary," Wine said.

And justice, Wine said, should be color blind.

"Whether this was an event with two young men on the East End playing poker or two young men on the West End playing dice, the potential punishment is going to be the same," Wine said.

While prosecutors often tout toughness, Wine is clearly staking out a different position.

"One of the things we want to be very careful about is that our goal is not to get a conviction. And I know that sounds silly, but our goal is to do justice," he said. "We have gone back and reviewed previous case and taken death off the table."

Case in point, Gregory O'Bryan who was convicted of meeting a Sullivan University student for sex, then killing him and dumping his body in the trash.

O'Bryan opted for a plea deal that included a 25-year sentence after Wine said a key element was missing for the death penalty.

"We just thought we were going to have trouble proving sodomy," Wine said. "I think we have to be careful to never allow the ends to justify the means."

Wine's lens of fairness is also bringing clarity to the how his team prosecutes cases.

It's no longer relying on using criminal informants, like James Mallory, a criminal who cut a deal from jail last year.

Mallory was later arrested and charged with another murder.

"My first question is, 'What do we have to verify that information?' And if there's nothing more than that person's testimony, we're not using that," Wine said.

While Wine's direction represents a distinct shift from former Jefferson County commonwealth's attorney Dave Stengal, he refuses to criticize his prosecuting predecessor.

Wine makes it clear, his single-minded mission for fairness and justice will bring back trust on the streets.

"If witnesses and victims don't trust us to do that, we'll never do our job," Wine said.

Wine said that's important in making justice stick.

In the Daniels' case, there were more than 30 witnesses to the murders, but Wine said only one of them could get over fear and mistrust to take the stand. .

Wine said that needs to change, which is why he's trying to be as fair as much as other prosecutors try to be tough.

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